What is the problem with getting parts for the products you sell?
What has passed for customer service with BH has been ridiculous for years but now , you've taken it to a whole new level! It's just completely unacceptable.

I absolutely WILL NOT SPEND another dime with BH until they start showing some support for the products and I suggest that ANYONE and EVERYONE check to make sure that parts for the product you are thinking about purchasing are available BEFORE you buy. Once they've got your money, it's too late.

I simply can't imagine having the nerve to sell a 500 plane and not stock ANY SPARE PARTS for it.

Common Pete, Antonio .....Really????

Common guys! You guys think you're Hobby King? Can you really afford to piss everybody on the planet off? We're not talking about a dozen or even two dozen complaints here, there are literally HUNDREDS of them on this site alone. Please guys... Wake TF up.

Hi jmpdgs! We are constantly updating the new website with the most accurate of availability information. Which particular item do you need parts for? Perhaps I can check with the warehouse in the meantime for you. Please feel free to provide your order number and/or part description(s) so I can look into it for you. I do apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and understanding! -Seba

"Hi jmpdgs! We are constantly updating the new website with the most accurate of availability information. Which particular item do you need parts for? Perhaps I can check with the warehouse in the meantime for you. Please feel free to provide your order number and/or part description(s) so I can look into it for you. I do apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for your patience and understanding! -Seba"

Sebastian:

Well, I appreciate the effort and hope that it's not just lip service. I have two aircraft that are in need of parts currently.

Starmax A-1 Skyraider : need a pair of STRUTS and WHEELS ( lost when the rotation pins fell out - a known problem with this design ). At the very least I need a new pair of main wheels so I can retro-fit a suitable strut and gear combo.

X-UAV B17 : Since I did not purchase this from BH, I can hardly hold your feet to the fire however, you are now carrying it and will hopefully be able to offer better support than your arch nemesis HK (shouldn't be hard to do!) For this model I'm in need of a bombadiers nose cone, two nacelles, and six props (the props are a unique design in this scale and available virtually nowhere!).

Where the Skyraider is concerned, I fully expect any retailer who carries a product to support that product and WOULD expect you to be able to help in a timely fashion. As for the B-17 when BH decides to actually show the product as "Available for sale" (rather than just the pre-sale hype) or even pre-sale, the same stipulation would apply.

If you REALLY sell out of these parts that quickly, that should alert your purchasing department to the high demand and justify increasing order quantities. If however, as I suspect, that an accompanying parts order is not being made a required condition when purchasing full kits from the manufacturer/distributor then I would reiterate my original advice to anyone considering a purchase from BH.

Quote:

MAKE CERTAIN that full parts support is available at the time of your purchase, otherwise find a different vendor or product that does offer full support. - jmp

Lastly I want to say how sad it is that this appears to be the only way to get anyone from BH to respond to customers concerns or needs. I've owned and run a few companies over the years and can tell you from experience that all of this negative press is far more damaging than anyone there might imagine. I can virtually guarantee you that sales would double in 180 days if BH would take the time to clean up it's Customer Service act. Get with the program and grow your business or suffer the consequences and watch as your competitors get what might have been BH dollars.

I certainly hope you can help, but believe me, I won't be holding my breath.

Hi jmpdgs! Thank you for your patience. I believe the A-1 retracts/gear may now be purchased on our website through here under the Parts tab.

As for the 1600mm B-17 parts, the nose cone is available at this time through here. However, the Nacelles [SKU #FW-B-17-F260109] and Propellers [SKU#FW-P-03; #FW-P-04] are still out of stock. Furthermore, please feel free to utilize our 'Alert Me' feature to receive a notification once those desired parts restock. I do apologize for any inconvenience and would like to thank you for your patience and understanding.

I appreciate the effort however it's been 3 weeks since I posted and it was a good 2 weeks prior to that when I began inquiring at BH about the parts. I think that a month and a half wait for a customer to get a simple yet vital part may be a bit much to ask, wouldn't you agree?

The Starmax A1 Skyraider landing strut and wheel set I was able to get from PW-RC.com a few days after the original post. It took three days to arrive (not three weeks).

The B-17 parts you linked are not the correct pieces although it is kind of you to do so. The linked units are for a FREEWING B-17 and the units that I am in need of are from the X-UAV B-17. It is ironic that here too I was forced to purchase FREEWING props (from yet another vendor) and modify them for use on my X-UAV (not something I would recommend to the average modeler as the props have to be shortened, reshaped and balanced in order to work efficiently and still don't look nearly as good as the originals). Incidentally, the X-UAV B-17 has now completely disappeared from the BH website. We can only hope that it was a decision made in consideration of the lack of parts support by the manufacturer. If so, maybe they'll get the hint.

In any case, BH was still five weeks out of essential parts for a model ( the Starmax Skyraider) that they continued to sell. There was no offer to part out one of the kits for customers who had previously purchased the model or anything else even remotely resembling any improvement in customer service. Just a bit of lip service (which I do appreciate) and generally bad business all around.

Considering all of this I reiterate my original advice to anyone considering making a purchase from BH or any other vendor.

Quote:

MAKE CERTAIN that full parts support for the model in which you are interested is available at the time of your purchase. Otherwise find a different vendor or product that does offer full support. - jmp

I appreciate the effort however it's been 3 weeks since I posted and it was a good 2 weeks prior to that when I began inquiring at BH about the parts. I think that a month and a half wait for a customer to get a simple yet vital part may be a bit much to ask, wouldn't you agree?

The Starmax A1 Skyraider landing strut and wheel set I was able to get from PW-RC.com a few days after the original post. It took three days to arrive (not three weeks).

The B-17 parts you linked are not the correct pieces although it is kind of you to do so. The linked units are for a FREEWING B-17 and the units that I am in need of are from the X-UAV B-17. It is ironic that here too I was forced to purchase FREEWING props (from yet another vendor) and modify them for use on my X-UAV (not something I would recommend to the average modeler as the props have to be shortened, reshaped and balanced in order to work efficiently and still don't look nearly as good as the originals). Incidentally, the X-UAV B-17 has now completely disappeared from the BH website. We can only hope that it was a decision made in consideration of the lack of parts support by the manufacturer. If so, maybe they'll get the hint.

In any case, BH was still five weeks out of essential parts for a model ( the Starmax Skyraider) that they continued to sell. There was no offer to part out one of the kits for customers who had previously purchased the model or anything else even remotely resembling any improvement in customer service. Just a bit of lip service (which I do appreciate) and generally bad business all around.

Considering all of this I reiterate my original advice to anyone considering making a purchase from BH or any other vendor.